This undated photo released Tuesday Feb. 19, 2013, by a Press Service of Lipetsk City Council, shows Russian lawmaker Mikhail Pakhomov. (AP Photo)

(Newser)
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The Russian politician who was found dead in a cement barrel Sunday was in debt—to the tune of $80 million. Police say Mikhail Pakhomov, 36, was tortured and killed over the outstanding loan, the New York Times reports. In addition to being a city legislator, Pakhomov was also the head of a construction company with several large contracts. Yevgeny Kharitonov, a former deputy minister for housing and utilities services—one of the most corrupt sectors in the country—is thought to have had Pakhomov killed, but so far he's only been charged with kidnapping. The Times observes that "the killing recalled the brutal violence that routinely emerged from business disputes in the 1990s."